


Swordfights and Soulmates (The 'Soulmates? In this Economy?!' Remix)

by DropsOfAutumn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Barbarian ThunderstormDarkness, Canon-Typical Violence, First Meetings, M/M, Monsters & Mana (Voltron), Paladin Jiro, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24734572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropsOfAutumn/pseuds/DropsOfAutumn
Summary: “Who wants to know?” the Barbarian says once he’s gulped down his bread with a sip of mead.“Jiro.”“Jiro who?” the man raises one of his eyebrows suspiciously, looking at him through long lashes. And Jiro has to fight the urge to get lost in the deep yellow eyes.“Just Jiro,” he says instead.“So Just Jiro. Tell me why ThunderstormDarkness should follow you into some dusty cave and slay some boars?”**Or: The one in which Shiro's Monsters and Mana Character meets his soulmate
Relationships: Jiro/ThunderstormDarkness, Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28
Collections: Sheith Remix 2020





	Swordfights and Soulmates (The 'Soulmates? In this Economy?!' Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Abyssiniana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abyssiniana/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Soulmates? In this Economy?!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23928745) by [Abyssiniana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abyssiniana/pseuds/Abyssiniana). 



> *cough* ahem... Surprise, [Rita](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abyssiniana/pseuds/Abyssiniana), I wrote a second Remix! While I was writing 'A Coffee to Stay', you published "Soulmates? In this Economy?!" and I loved the story a lot! It made me really curious about Shiro's, or rather Jiro's, side of the story, so my fingers got carried away writing Jiro's background story. I really hope you like this piece as well <3.
> 
> Again, biggest Thank You to [Christie](https://twitter.com/appetixing) for bearing with my love-hate relationship towards English Tenses. You're the best! <3

**Your soulmate is the light of your life; your raison-d’etre, your joy. Your beginning and your end.**

*******

It’s just another night in which Jiro finds himself in “The Dancing Weblum“, his favourite tavern in the town of Garris. It’s a sleepy and quiet town, at the foot of a mountain, the only rest between the eternal winter of the Naxzelan mountains and the city of Dai’bazaal, which lies five days ride to the south. Any traveler who wants to pass North has to cross Garris at one point, a welcomed stop to fill their rations, and get a good couple of nights’ rests before the long way through the mountains.

What had started out as a rest stop for wanderers had soon become a haven for lost souls and broken heroes. 

As many so-called-heroes before, Jiro grew up reading stories about soulmates. The reason to live, the joy, the spark, the one thing worth fighting for. And when he was 14, barely old enough to hold a sword, Jiro felt the pull for the first time. The pull that tugged on his heart and filled his fingers with a spark, the pull that made him leave his parents on a quest to find the one soul that he was destined to share his life with. 

In the first years of his journey, he did not find such a soulmate. 

What he found was hunger and misery instead, bandits, and bad people. And sometimes he preferred searching for a warm place to sleep over searching for a person to warm his heart.

After two years on the streets, his road led him to a home and a master, and a reason to fight.  
He stumbled over the Holy Order of the White Lion by accident, when he’d been robbed by a group of bandits that left him beaten in some bushes near the road to New Altea. A paladin found him and took him in, nurtured him back to health and taught him to fight. The ways of the White Lion were deep and mysterious, but they fought for the good cause. And Jiro learned that brute force was not always the answer to every question. 

So he studied the way of the sword the same way he studied the way of words, finding himself in debates with his master over and over again, learning how to appease and negotiate with his mouth while his sword was detaching scarecrows from their heads.

Years in the Holy Order flew by until his master and Jiro were sent on a mission to protect the Altean princess from the hoards of Galran thieves roaming the wasteland. 

It was a gruesome ambush that made them lose in the end, one that cost Jiro his master and his right arm and he had to watch the princess getting kidnapped while he was left in the mud again.   
  
And the second Jiro decided his life was forfeit and he was a disgrace to his Order, was the second he felt the pull in his heart that had been silent for so long. And out of a sheer miracle, he survived the ambush.

Battered, broken, and robbed of his pride and his right arm, Jiro left the Holy Order of the White Lion, searching for a new life. It was three days after he left the road leading to New Altea, that he felt the pull again. His heart sang to him to follow his steps to the Naxzelan mountains. And so he went, following the call of a beautiful voice in his veins.

When Jiro first found himself in Garris, the town had been in desperate need of a hero. And as it turned out, even with his crippled state he could still slay dragons and boars and defend carriages on their way through the forest. And maybe, Garris was not as bad a waterhole as any other town. So he stayed, letting years pass, his heart in deep slumber.

The town is not fancy and the tavern is old and rundown. But once the sun is setting over the blue trees of Spring Forest, illuminating the lilac grass with the last weak rays of light for the day, _The Dancing Weblum_ comes alive with the voices of travels, with merchants praising their goods and armors, with whispered secrets and bards playing their lutes and singing of heroic deeds, the same song Shiro has heard ten times before. 

Jiro loves sitting in his corner close to the notice board, where he has a good view over travelers who come and go, and from where he can watch old Coran. The innkeeper with the fancy mustache and a good recipe for mead, can tell the best stories about his youth and rumors from a time when New Altea was only called Altea and elve-like creatures roamed her streets.

One of the things Jiro loves most about _The Dancing Weblum_ is the food. The cook, a retired cleric called Block, can do some real magic with the sparse herbs and meat the Spring Forest offered. And Jiro could swear on the magic powers of the food. He definitely feels more refreshed every time he tries some of the bread the innkeeper offers.

And as Jiro’s watching the tavern come to life while enjoying the comfort of a freshly baked loaf of bread, something happens Something strange that Jiro has not felt for years, not since the day he set his foot in Garris.

The door to the tavern opens and he feels a well-known pull on his heart. **  
** **  
** *****

ThunderstormDarkness is wild and mysterious, a firecracker with the most beautiful yellow eyes and a penchant for mischief. He’s a Barbarian, Shiro can see as much from the thick blue pelt around his shoulders and the axe resting next to his feet, as well as his table manners as he inhales a healthy portion of Block’s boar stew in one go. 

His hair is dark as the night and unkempt, his face is streaked with mud and a deep scar. And Jiro has never seen a more endearing sight. His heart pulls him forward, leading his steps to the small table the Barbarian is occupying.

From up close, Jiro can see lean muscles flex under porcelain skin, and Jiro spots some daggers hidden in his belt. And suddenly, everything in Jiro sings, making him curious about the real strength of the Barbarian. Turns out he’s weak for men who know how to fight. 

“New in town?” Jiro says once he stops in front of the Barbarian and actually manages to form some sentences and not stare at the display of lean muscles. 

The man only grunts, taking a huge bite from a loaf of bread.

Jiro feels the pulse rushing in his ears and his veins sing to test the stranger’s strength in battle. And in the bedroom.

And his heart… his heart’s about to leap out of his chest.

There was a time when Jiro did not believe in soulmates and destiny. His journey following his heart has left him with scars all over his body, a rough stubble on his chin, and a good portion of misery. And still – seeing the man sitting in front of him and feeling his heart burst makes everything seem worthwhile.

“I’m looking for some company to save a kidnapped princess. You up for chopping monsters and chasing treasures?” he asks, a challenge in his words.

“Who wants to know?” the Barbarian says once he’s gulped down his bread with a sip of mead. 

“Jiro.”  
  
“Jiro who?” the man raises one of his eyebrows suspiciously, looking at him through long lashes. And Jiro has to fight the urge to get lost in the deep yellow eyes. 

“Just Jiro,” he says instead. 

“So Just Jiro. Tell me why ThunderstormDarkness should follow you into some dusty cave and slay some boars?” the man with the foreign name lifts his hand to his chin, his dinner in front of him forgotten when their eyes meet.

“You afraid of dust and boars?” Jiro cannot help but reply with a smug grin. Something in this man makes him daring, challenging. Brave. 

“Don’t worry. I’m sure I can keep up with you.” ThunderstormDarkness’ eyes glisten in the light of the fireplace and Jiro’s heart skips a beat.

“I have no doubt about that.” 

And so, _ThunderstormDarkness_ follows _Jiro_ into the adventure.

***

**Your soulmate is the light of your life; your raison-d’etre, your joy. Your beginning and your end.**

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> I'll try my best to reply to comments and would love to hear what you think!
> 
> You can find me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/dropsofautumn)♡


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